Randy's Donuts Provides LV with New Donut Option
Plus: "I Love My Park Day" Activities this Saturday, Congrats to LV Update Readers on Fundraiser, LV News Update, City FY 2024 Budget Town Hall, and LV Beer Garden
The Linda Vista Update—a Community Newsletter
Once again, we found ourselves this week wandering out of Linda Vista for a food review. Our destination wasn’t really that far outside the LV boundaries, and we think it was warranted because of all the talk about the supposed “best donuts in the country” which just came to San Diego.
What are we talking about? Randy’s Donuts, of course. Randy’s Donuts started in 1952. According to their website they are the most recognized donut shop in the world. Their giant rooftop donut has attracted visitors from all over the world, making it one of the most iconic locations in L.A. You have probably seen it yourself in Inglewood, CA, near LAX. Now San Diego has acquired its own Randy’s Donuts, albeit without the giant donut.
After hearing that on opening day, San Diegans got in line at the shop starting at 1:30 am—many hours before it actually opened its doors—we figured we would wait a few days for the mystery to wear off before giving them a try.
San Diego Randy’s is located at 3737 Murphy Canyon Road, right off Aero Drive. I should add that Randy’s is also in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Paris, Korea, as well as many other places in the US.
Upon arriving, we encountered a moderate line of hungry looking patrons just waiting to try one or more of a huge variety (over 50) of donuts. The donuts all looked delicious in their cases just reaching out to us saying “Pick me, please.” They had the usual traditional style donuts and their variations, as well as some very unusual ones like the Froot Loop raised, Fruity Pebbles raised, and maple raised with churros.
We had taken a few orders from friends to get their opinions for our review, so we were ready when we reached the front of the line. Staff members wait for customers with a box so they could make selections from the cases. It is very difficult to choose, but we finally decided on Nutella raised, apple fritter, maple cake iced, toasted coconut, glazed twist, and maple raised.
After distributing the donuts, I received the following reviews.
—The maple cake iced donut got a rave review from MBB. Although she usually has leftovers of whatever she eats, she stated it was so fabulous that she ate the whole thing and didn’t even give any to her donut-loving dog.
—JW and LW had mixed reviews. The maple raised was rated as very good, but the apple fritter was a little dry according to the reviewer and he prefers Yum Yum.
—Carnivore and his sidekick shared a toasted coconut and a Nutella and rated them tasty, moist, and doughy and noted they did not skimp on the toppings.
—Steve really enjoyed his Nutella, which had a nice thick coating of the chocolate delicacy. He was a little concerned about the amount of sugar it probably contained, but not worried enough to share it with me.
Being as boring as I am, I chose a glazed twist. It was good, but as Steve said, it is hard to go wrong with a glazed donut. I want to add that the apple fritter was so big, we cut it into four pieces. Steve and I each tasted a piece and my only problem with it is that you could never eat the whole thing, unlike Yum Yum which has both large and small apple fritters. I didn’t think to check the price of each of the donuts but I’m sure they were all reasonable.
So, if you want to see and taste for yourself what the fuss is all about, venture over to Randy’s Donuts for a try. If you happen to be at the nearby Wal-Mart or the Dollar Tree, you might as well stop in. Otherwise, keep getting your donuts at Yum Yum and you know you can’t go wrong.
Celebrate at LV Rec Center this Saturday
The San Diego Parks Foundation is partnering up with several City/County organization this Saturday May 13 to sponsor an “I Love My Park Day” at four lucky San Diego Parks. Good news…our very own Linda Vista Community Park and Recreation Center happens to be one of these four parks.
As stated on the Foundation’s web site, “I Love My Park Day” is “a day of free multi-cultural and multi-generational activities. Through music, theatre, art and crafts, games, sports clinics, and tournaments, ‘I Love My Park Day’ promotes health, safety, equity, community, well-being and pride in San Diego neighborhoods.”
“I Love My Park Day” activities will occur from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the LV Recreation Center located at 7064 Levant Street.
In addition to the San Diego Parks Foundation, this event is also sponsored by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department, and the County of San Diego Live Well San Diego & Department of HHSA.
Saturday’s activities at the Linda Vista Recreation Center will include the following:
-3 X 3 basketball tournament for adults
-Inflatable obstacle course
-Carnival style game booths
-Holy Palenta—Ice Cream
-Play Zone for toddlers
-Face painting
-Photo booth
-American Flavors food truck
-Music
-Youth Theatre performance
-Community resources
Food from the food truck will be free for youngsters!
LV Recreation Center Director Aly Perez commented, “I encourage Linda Vista families to come out and hang with us this Saturday. It’s a great opportunity to enjoy your park.”
*****
The Linda Vista Park and Recreation Center is one of three City parks that have been “adopted” by the San Diego Parks Foundation. In doing so, the Foundation works closely with the Park staff and Linda Vista Recreation Advisory Board to help improve and revitalize the Park.
SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY WALK FOR ANIMALS 2023
The Walk for Animals is one of SD Humane Society’s largest fundraising events of the year and helps raise money to care for the thousands of wild and domestic animals that come through the shelter. This year, the Linda Vista Update was pleased that our very own Carnivore Sidekick agreed to help raise money and participate in the Walk for Animals. He pledged to raise $500 from Linda Vista Update readers, and we are happy to announce that he reached 101% of his goal. The SD Humane Society raised over $300,000 from this event.
The Walk was held at Liberty Station on May 6. It was a fun day for me and the Carnivore. We arrived early and had no problem with a parking space. After picking up his T-shirt and pancake ticket, we went to the big tent where everyone sat down to enjoy their pancake breakfast. There were vendors all around the park selling all sorts of pet supplies and accessories. There were booths from rescue organizations, as well as the Humane Society and other organizations and businesses. There must have been hundreds of volunteers and I noticed on the SDHS website that all volunteer positions had been filled, so that is an indication of how beloved an organization the SD Humane Society is in the San Diego community.
We agreed that we had never seen so many dogs of every breed and color imaginable. Mostly they were well behaved, and many were pushed in baby carriages by their owners. The planes over head were very noisy so the barking made little difference. There was a stage with lots of music throughout the morning, as well as appearances by several dignitaries.
People could walk ½ mile, 1 mile or as much or as little as their animals could tolerate. Unfortunately for Carnivore, Bernie the puppy he had been fostering for a rescue organization was adopted to his forever home a few days prior to the walk, so he was left dog-less for the Walk. Never mind, the important thing was that money was raised for this great cause.
Steve, Carnivore, and I wish to thank all of you who donated to help him reach his goal! Maybe next year he will actually get to walk with a dog.
LV News Briefs:
—Farmers Market: The Love, Linda Vista Farmers Market will be held today May 11 from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Linda Vista Plaza Shopping Center. Come shop for your fresh fruits and vegetables and check out all the other wonderful vendors and the products they offer.
—Food Distribution: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, located at 6840 Osler Street in Linda Vista, will conduct its monthly food distribution this Saturday May 13 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm in the church parking lot. Both cars and walk-throughs are welcome to participate in the food distribution. You can read a previous issue of the LV Update to learn more details about this food distribution, to include household size and income qualifications.
—Professional Soccer: The SD Loyal plays its next home game this Saturday May 13 at 7:00 pm at the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium. The opponent will be the Rio Grande Valley FC. Ticket info can be found here.
—LV Town Council: The Linda Vista Town Council will hold its monthly general meeting on Wednesday May 17 at the American Legion Post 731 (7245 Linda Vista Road). Check out the flyer below for details.
—Car Show: Check out the below flyer for details about the 5th Annual Kearny Alumni Car Show to be held Saturday May 20.
District 7 Budget Town Hall Held
A District 7 Virtual Budget Town Hall was held this Tuesday night. During this Town Hall the office of District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo and the City’s Office of Independent Budget Analyst conducted a review of the City’s FY 2024 Proposed Budget, along with a review of the budget process, what next steps need to occur in the process, and an explanation of the need for public involvement. The presentation emphasized the public’s role in the process and explained that residents can offer their opinions to Councilmember Campillo via email, phone call, and public comments during public hearings.
During the informative Budget Town Hall, an explanation of the City’s budget process was outlined as depicted in the above slide.
Later, Councilmember Campillo identified District 7 priorities for the Fy 2024 budget. These priorities included funding for:
-San Carlos Library
-Allied Garden Dog Park
-Street Resurfacing
-Linda Vista Parks (to include Kelly Street Park)
-Serra Mesa Recreation Center
Councilmember Campillo also took the time to review and “celebrate” FY 2023 Secured Funding for District 7 to include the following items directly related to Linda Vista:
-$100,000 for traffic calming on Osler Street
-$400,000 for 5 additional streetlights in Linda Vista
-$500,000 for Linda Vista Library expansion
The budget is expected to be approved by June 12.
A recording of this virtual Town Hall will eventually be posted on Councilmember Campillo’s web site.
You can find documents related to the City’s FY 2024 proposed budget here.
As mentioned previously, if you want to share your opinions about the FY2024 proposed budget, your are encouraged to contact the office of Councilmember Campillo to make sure your voice is heard.
Commentary
Planting the Idea of a LV Beer Garden
Plans for the proposed Linda Vista Community Garden, to be located at the Linda Vista Community Park, are still being formulated. Once it comes to fruition, this community garden—a joint venture between the Bayside Community Center and the City’s Parks and Recreation Department-- will be a welcome addition to the Linda Vista landscape. But another kind of “garden” should also play an enjoyable role in the lives of local residents.
We wrote in last week’s issue of this newsletter of the fun everyone had at the 38th annual Linda Vista Multi-Cultural Fair, held on April 29. The parade, the food booths, the kids’ rides, and the various entertainment/performers all combined to provide community members with a memorable day of enjoyment, just like in previous years. In fact, the Fair/Parade seemed to feature many favorite entries from previous years and effectively sprinkled in some new ones to make this year’s edition of the event fresh and vibrant.
One of the more popular new entries to the Fair included a Beer Garden. This is the first time the Fair has included a venue serving alcohol. And from what we experienced, this new venue proved a success. The Beer Garden was located for the afternoon in a part of John Baca Park, across the street from the Fair’s main stage, which itself was located close to Yum Yum Donuts. The Beer Garden consisted of a chain link-fenced off area, and included a makeshift bar serving beer and margaritas, as well as a number of comfortable leather sofas spread out on the park grass for causal seating, drinking, and socializing. There seemed to be a consistent flow of people paying visits to the Beer Garden throughout the Fair’s duration.
After manning our Linda Vista Update booth for most of the afternoon, we spent the last half hour of the Fair at the Beer Garden. It was a very pleasant experience, to say the least. While relaxing on one of the sofas, we enjoyed a beer and a margarita and got to listen and watch the entertainment performing on the stage across the street. We did so as the cool San Diego afternoon air began to seep in. The entire experience, however brief, was very relaxing. The festive atmosphere and soothing park setting…plus the alcohol…combined for a perfect ending to the day. We were left thinking that the return of the Beer Garden should be a definite must for next year’s LV Multicultural Fair.
It also got us thinking that perhaps we shouldn’t have to wait an entire year for such a Beer Garden to make another appearance in Linda Vista. We started contemplating that a once-a-month pop-up Beer Garden at the same location (John Baca Park) might not be a bad idea. Pop-up restaurants and retail stores that open temporarily in different venues seem to be the rage these days, so why not a pop-up Beer Garden? Imagine the occasional Saturday or Sunday afternoon Beer Garden operating in that same area! A place to enjoy a beer or margarita (in moderation, of course), some musical entertainment, and jovial conversation with fellow LV residents! Bring in some food trucks and people could enjoy tasty varieties of food as well.
Going to a Beer Garden in Munich, Germany—the beer capital of the world— is a very popular thing to do. Since San Diego is the craft beer capital of the U.S., having a pop-up Beer Garden in Linda Vista should be considered a more than reasonable idea.
Let’s face it…since the demise of Padre Gold (formerly located at the American Legion Post), there is no place in downtown Linda Vista for resident beer lovers to go for a drink. A pop up Beer Garden could sufficiently fill this unfortunate void. Yes, Mr. Peabody’s Bar and Grill (down the hill at Friars Road and Via Las Cumbres) is a great place to enjoy drinks and food in an inside setting, but sometimes it’s more fun to casually sit outside and enjoy the great San Diego weather.
And besides, with the exception of the Fair’s Beer Garden, when was the last time you saw anyone actually enjoying themselves in John Baca Park? It is probably the most underutilized park in Linda Vista. The periodic pop-up Beer Garden, situated in the lush grass of the park, would give this venue a new purpose.
Yes, one of Linda Vista’s number one priorities should be the construction of a Community Garden enabling local residents the opportunity to grow their own vegetables and herbs, but a pop-up Beer Garden concept in John Baca Park should be allowed to grow as well. After all, crops like oats, hops, barley, and wheat are important too!
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The Linda Vista Update is a weekly digital newsletter that publishes informative, interesting and fun news about Linda Vista and its neighboring communities.
This was another extra good one.